1968 Chevrolet C10 Project – Laggard Longbed V2.0

Haul Monitor

It’s been over a year since I introduced the Laggard Longbed ’68 C10 pickup project to ya’ll and since then, well, we’ve done a bunch of stuff. If you’re not familiar with the project, we started with a longbed ’68 Chevy C10 with a stock 307 V-8 backed by a Saginaw three-speed and proceeded to tear into it with furious abandon. We swapped out the Saginaw for a T5, bolted up a plethora of go-fast goodies on the original motor, updated the stock suspension components, and bolted on a bunch of new brightwork pieces. But like any good project, they’re never done, which brings us up to today.

As per my original plan, I really wanted to build the truck in two separate iterations. One of which I’ve already accomplished; the aforementioned low-buck build which consisted of using the majority of the original components without altering the body, interior, or bed to any major extent. The second iteration is the one in which I’m about to embark upon. This version will concentrate a bit more on the core of what you guys are all about—modifying old trucks, plain and simple.

I’m going to start by doing a modification that’s got truck guys split down the middle and something we’ve covered before in CCT in years past—converting the longbed to a shortbed. I’ve teamed up with Brothers Trucks and by the time you read this, those guys should have a kit together that’ll make it easy to do the conversion at home, without a bunch of the guesswork that usually goes into the process. Once cut down, I’m going to cover the gap in the floor with a custom set of boards from Bed Wood & Parts. It’s something that I was on the fence about doing, but having driven the truck around now for the last year or so with the long wheelbase and given what I’ve got in mind as far as drivetrain goes, it just makes sense to take it to the next level and really go for that hot rod truck vibe that only a shorter wheelbase can deliver.

Following the wheelbase augmentation will be a full-on heart transplant via a Chevy Performance LS327 engine and either their Supermatic overdrive trans or a Tremec T56 six-speed manual for the ultimate in a hot rod powerplant combo. To supplement the LS, I’m going to start out rather mild with a simple carb setup and progress to a bolt-on TBI EFI system. Then, when everything’s running nice and reliable, I’d like to tear it all back apart, bolt on a set of heads, a supercharger, and a port-injected EFI setup to really shake things up.

At that point, I’m also going to update the interior with a Classic Instruments CT G-Stock Series gauge set and mate the cockpit with the rest of the truck via a Painless Wiring kit. Brothers Trucks has also stepped up to spruce up the otherwise lackluster cab appointments with a ’68-specific seat cover to replacement the plain vinyl unit, along with a pair of door panels to match. Once all that’s said and done, you know I’m going to have to paint the whole shebang, which brings us to one problem—it’s going to be hard to use as a truck anymore!!!

That’s going to be a major bummer, but I think having a nice, finished truck will be worth what little bit of headache it takes to carefully haul stuff to and fro. Perhaps I’ll fabricate some kind of bedliner that I can take in and out of the bed when needed so as to not damage the paint and wood. What kinds of precautions do you guys take when it comes to hauling stuff in the back of your finished pickups? With the creativity I see out there at every show, I’m sure there’s some great ideas floating ’round. Now the only problem is choosing the color…oh the agony of building a classic truck!